Newcastle have chosen Paul Mitchell as their new sporting director after a search to replace Dan Ashworth.
The 42-year-old beat Johannes Spors, 777 Partners sporting director, to the role while Marseille’s Pablo Longoria also got to the late stages of the process.
Mitchell had previously been linked to the Manchester United role eventually taken by Ashworth and the final decision to pick him had boss Eddie Howe’s backing with the process running through the Odgers Berndston executive search firm.
He started out as MK Dons’ first head of recruitment in 2010, having played for them between 2005 and 2009, and just two years later joined Southampton, with the club promoted in his first season
After nearly three years on the south coast, he moved to Tottenham where he helped bring in Son Heung-min, Dele Alli, Kieran Trippier and Toby Alderweireld.
He left Spurs after just two years in 2016 and came close to joining Norwich a year later before eventually moving to RB Leipzig in February 2018.
There, he brought Emile Smith Rowe on loan from Arsenal as well as Matheus Cunha, now at Wolves, from Sion before departing for Monaco two years later, spending three years in France.
“It was a very difficult decision,” Mitchell told French newspaper Nice-Matin on his decision to leave Monaco in October last year.
“I loved my experience at this club. I have always felt a lot of support from president Dmitry Rybolovlev. We had several discussions about my mission, about the possibility of changing roles within the club, of extending my contract.
“I feel that the mission I had, which was to rebuild the sports project, has been fulfilled.”
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